55.

The next day first seemed to drag - through classes and then through lunch. Arnold was at the middle school for lunch that day to meet up with his student mentee. He usually had a great time with his little buddy Markie, but this day - all he seemed to be able to think about was the taste of Helga.

Meanwhile, Helga sat in the dreary cafeteria, listening to Dustin bitch how the school doesn't take boxing seriously. He was right, but she didn't want to hear about it. She was surly, so he was surly in response. But her heart wasn't in it - her heart was fluttering at the thought of Arnold's hands and all the places she wanted them to touch.

The day kept dragging all the way to last block. That's when time started to fly. On the other side of the last block and their after school activities was dinner. The end of boxing and the end of newspaper seemed to come in a blink. Then all of a sudden Helga and Arnold were looking at the gym door standing between them, knowing that on the other side was the person they missed all day. At that moment it felt too fast. It felt like too much. Too exciting and too overwhelming.

Come one, Helga! Just go out there! She scolded herself. You want this. This is a good thing. Just talk to him. Breathe.

It wasn't that they didn't want to go to dinner. That they didn't want to spend time together. But this was planned. This was scheduled. They were going to have to talk - about something. And their friends had been reminding them anytime they could.

"You gotta talk to her - you gotta know how she feels."

"You gotta talk to him - you aren't going to fuck it up."

They knew their friends were right - but what if they weren't. Yeah - what if they were wrong!?

Finally someone popped open the gym door exposing the two statues to each other.

"H-Hey - you ready to go?" Arnold said as Helga finally started moving through the door.

"Yeah - "

56.

They walked to the car in silence, every once in a while their hands brushed against each other and they each smiled internally.

Once they reached the car, Arnold walked up to the passenger side and unlocked the door. Before he opened it for her, he smiled at Helga.

"What? Something on my face?" She asked, hoisting the gym bag higher on her shoulder.

"No," he said, then leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Then he stepped back and opened the door. He could see the color flooding her face as she furrowed her brow. He liked seeing her flustered. It was cute - ha, not that he'd tell her that. As he walked around the car, Helga took a quick look around - no one saw that right? Right. Good. Oh! He kissed me - oooh!

"So - uh - how was your - uh - day?" Helga fumbled as Arnold got in the driver's seat.

"Yeah it was good!" He said. "Yeah - just a normal day…"

What he wanted to say was I spent the whole day thinking about when we were half naked in my bed. I couldn't talk to my mentee because my brain was clouded by the smell of your skin. I want to…

He was swiftly operating the stick shift then put one arm across the back of the seat, turning to back out of the parking spot.

Helga just stared at the line of his neck - she wanted to reach out and bite him. Hard. Leave a mark. Because he's mine! She thought - knowing that she can't just attack him. Hell, she wasn't even sure if he would want that. She was all sweaty and gross from boxing. He had only given her a kiss on the cheek. But I want to stick my tongue all the way down his throat, she thought as he turned back to the road, sliding his hand off the back of the seat but brushing her shoulder a little on his way.

The ride to Larry's continued like this - small chatter about the day, unsaid things about wanting to kiss this and lick that and touch there. Very teenager, you know?

Not only were they both thinking dirty teenage thoughts, both were also dreading having to have any kind of real conversation about What this Was - a Relationship? Are we dating? What are we? What is happening!? Obviously their friends were right! They needed to talk.

But Gerald was also right that Arnold gets carried away - what if it happened this time? With Helga - who would absolutely drop him like a hot potato. She would kick him to the fucking curb if he overloaded on the cheezy lovey dovey boyfriend shit.

Yes Phoebe was reasonable - but she also agreed that Helga could totally fuck this up! They even both agreed that just by being HERSELF, Helga could ruin everything. Well - Phoebe would argue with this wording - but this was all in Helga's brain so she didn't need to consider what the real Phoebe would do. Brain Phoebe agreed that Helga was reckless and dangerous.

So, instead of anything of import, when they arrived at Larry's they found themselves talking about how Stab 4 was ok - but they didn't understand why they would already be making Stab 5.

"An obvious money grab!" Helga said, throwing a hand in the air.

"Yeah - it's just so disappointing." He said, laughing a little. He looked at Helga - she had a light smile on her face. In the setting sunlight she gave off a warm glow, he thought.

"What are you lookin at?" She said, but with less vitriol than normal.

"Nothin!" He said, shaking his head. "You ready?" She nodded and pulled on the door handle. But it stuck and her hand slipped back off it.

"You trying to kidnap me or somethin, football head?"

"Oh sorry, sometimes it's finicky. Here," Arnold said as he slid across the bench seat and reached across Helga's lap for the door.

In that quick instinctual moment, Arnold was basically on top of Helga, and now both of their senses were on fire. If they had the wherewithal to track details in that moment, they would have noticed that both of them caught their breath - it became shallow. A sudden and identical heat seemed to shoot through each of their bodies. Helga's eyes were locked on Arnold's lips. Arnold found himself staring down at the line of her shorts on her thigh. He could smell her - a mix of sweat, but in a light salt way, and lavender from her shampoo and something sweet. She smelled impossibly good.

He finally shook awake enough to unlock the door with a swift flick.

"Oh - sorry - I'm -" was all he got out as he lifted his eyes to meet hers.

Helga gazed back at him, no attitude, no sarcasm. He couldn't identify her look - until she softly bit her lip. Not in a seductive way - it was for sure in an effort to hold her shit together - but in that moment, he knew very clearly that he found Helga G. Pataki incredibly attractive.

Then, as if they decided together, they leaned into each other.

57.

It was so quick and somehow natural the way Helga and Arnold wrapped around each other. Helga was pressed against the passenger side window, her left leg slid up onto the seat. Her right leg was slung up and around Arnold's waist, where he had pulled it - his hand still under her thigh, gripping tight.

Their hips were pressed together. He pulled her lips to his with his other hand. Helga had one hand tangled in Arnold's hair and the other was wrenching helplessly at the collar of his shirt. There was an aggression to the kiss at first - their brows furrowed with a sharp intake of breath. But soon it started to soften and melt. Brows started to pull up in a needy expression, lips parted and tongues wandered freely.

And they stayed like that for 5 minutes, 7 minutes, 10 - 15…

They rolled over and over each other, finding new purchase in the crook of a neck, twisting the fingers together, slow kisses over closed eyes.

It was the kind of make out session only teenagers can have. The kind that is full of discovery and excitement - each person so happy to just feel anything and everything they could. The car was hot and they were starting to sweat - and it did not matter at all.

"Mmmm," Helga hummed into the kiss. She was cradled in his lap. Arnold had his right on her side, his thumb tucked in the band of her sports bra and his left arm wrapped around her shoulders, his hand cupping her face. As Helga hummed, Arnold lightly bit her lower lip.

"You are so," Arnold gasped as he pulled away a little.

"What?" Helga whispered.

"Fucking sexy." he said, leaning his forehead into hers.

"Shut up -" she said, starting to pull back. But he gripped her tighter.

"No - it's true," he laughed. "Stop fighting it!" He said and kissed again and again between her light laughter. And then again.

BAM BAM BAM!

"OH my god!" Helga yelled as a big flat hand slapped heavily against the window. Rather than unraveling, Helga and Arnold gripped each other tighter and pulled away from the sound. When they finally looked up, they saw Larry looking down at them with an exhausted kind of look.

Helga spun around to lie across Arnold's lap so she could reach the handle for the window on the driver's door.

"Hey there, Old Man. How's it goin?" She said as she rolled the window down awkwardly. Arnold barely heard her as he tried to figure out where to put his hands - was it ok to rest them on her ass? He lightly settled one hand on a bare thigh and the other carefully on her butt. Then looked up to meet Larry's eye.

Larry glared at him and Arnold quickly lifted his hands off Helga's backside all together.

"Hi Larry!"

"Y'all can't be doin that in my parking lot - it's just - please don't." He said uncomfortably.

"Yeah - got it!" Arnold said a little too loudly.

"Aw come on -" Helga started.

"Naw, no! You have been out here for near 45 minutes!"

"Oh shit," Helga said. "I've gotta get to work!" Helga sprung up and pushed Arnold toward the steering wheel. "Sorry Lare - won't happen again!"

"Better not." He said stoically, looking Arnold dead in the eye.

"Of course not. No problem!" He said, guilty. "Gotta go!" Arnold near shouted at the man. He hurriedly turned on the car and zipped out of the parking lot.

"See you later, Old Man!" Helga shouted out the window! She cackled as she rolled her window back up. "Oh my god! I have never seen that face! Oh that was so boss! Don't look so freaked, Arnoldo."

"He looked really upset!" Arnold said, uncertain if he really cared or if he was just embarrassed. Helga reached out and slapped his arm, laughing. Finally he broke and laughed too. Then licked his lips - he could still taste her and it brought on that rush of heat again.

They laughed all the way to work, cracking jokes at Larry's expense. And at every red light - Helga would reach over and kiss him again. Arnold made sure to be slow on the gas, trying to hit every red light he could.

58.

"Ok!" Helga said, as they stopped in front of Roscoe's.

"Yeah," Arnold said back, just watching her.

"I should go," she said, but only sunk into the seat, closer and closer to Arnold.

"Yeah," he said, watching her lips. Then finally, she closed distance again.

In this probably last kiss of the day, Arnold reached out and confidently gripped her thigh, right in the soft part, high up on her leg. She shivered a little and hummed against the kiss again. "Oh - don't do that," she whispered.

"Do what?" He asked, then squeezed again, knowingly.

"That - " she said in a gasp. "I will not be able to get out of this car."

"Great," he replied. "I don't want you to."

In another inhale, she pulled herself tight to his chest in a hungry kiss then ripped herself away, pushing herself to the other side of the car. She put her foot up on the seat between them and set her face in a mock determination.

"I have to go." She said.

Breathless, smiling, Arnold finally said - "Fine!"

"Fine!" She called back and gathered her stuff, opening the door.

"Good!" He said, calling her bluff. "Go!"

"I'm going!" She was out of the car, swinging her bag over her shoulder. But then Arnold leaned down so he could see her face.

"Wait - don't go!" He laughed. In a swift move, she bent forward, ducked into the car and gave him one more kiss and bite on the lip. Then just as quick, she was gone, slamming the door shouting.

"See ya tomorrow, football head!" He watched her disappear through the door. Then with a great sigh, he threw the Packard in drive and sped happily home, thinking: Hel-ga Pataki - I am in so much trouble.